News Notes

Cornell’s Baker Institute and Hanover Shoe Farms Partner to Study Causes of Early Pregnancy Loss

The Equine Pregnancy Lab at the Cornell Baker Institute for Animal Health, part of Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, announced a new partnership with Hanover Shoe Farms to study the genetic causes of early pregnancy loss in the Standardbred mare. The leads for this initiative are

Mandi de Mestre, BVSc(hons), PhD, PGCAP, MRCVS, the McConville Professor of Equine Medicine and the director of the Baker Institute for Animal Health, and Russell Williams, the president and CEO of Hanover Shoe Farms.

Between 10% to 15% of all confirmed equine pregnancies fail to result in live births, and Dr.
de Mestre has found that more than 50% of pregnancy losses are attributed to genetic abnormalities in the fetus, including chromosomal errors.

Dr. de Mestre’s previous studies primarily used Thoroughbreds, and she is eager to extend this project to include Standardbreds, which use Artificial Insemination (AI) as the primary breeding method.

“As the largest Standardbred breeding farm in North America, Hanover Shoe Farms is a welcome partner for the collaboration and their outstanding staff and noted excellence at managing a large and valuable herd will provide the project with the support to explore the important contribution of this condition in the Standardbred,” Dr. de Mestre said. MeV